First 40 Years

The ProRodeo Hall of Fame is celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout 2019, starting with a new exhibit outlining some of the museum permanent collections.
This exhibit gives guests a taste of the various collections we have at the Hall all at once. Since we are unable to have all of these items out on display year-round, visitors can see a little bit of the amazing history we are preserving here.
The exhibit opened May 1 and will be featured through September.

Support the PRHOF

Since 1979, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame has been an educational and entertaining museum designed to preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, present and future. Without the continue support of sponsors, members, and rodeo enthusiasts, the Hall wouldn't be able to continue it's legacy. Consider donating or becoming a member TODAY!

Hall Of Fame Events

These upcoming ProRodeo Hall of Fame events are all open to the public. Reservations are required for some events. To be added to our mailing list call 719-528-4732. Additional information about each event will be added as they become available.

May 1, 2019 – Museum switches to summer hours. We will be open 7 days a week from 9am-5pm until September 1st.

June 29, 2019 – 23rd Annual Pikes Peak Special Rodeo

July 27, 2019 – National Day of the American Cowboy

August 1, 2019 – 32nd Annual Colorado Springs Golf Tournament
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame is currently seeking sponsorship’s for our annual golf tournament in Colorado. This golf tournament is a major fundraiser for the Hall and it typically draws around 120 golfers from all over the United States. We have a variety of sponsorship levels available and can also customize a sponsorship to meet your needs. Click here for opportunities available. If you have any questions please give us a call at (719)528-4732 or email stadken@prorodeo.com.

Director’s Note: Class of 2019 Announced

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Commotion, one of the greatest bucking horses of all time, highlights a star-studded, 12-member class that will be enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 3.

“I think this is great,” said stock contractor Bennie Beutler. “With Commotion, he either bucked them off or they would win first on him. He was one of the horses who liked to buck, and he never had a bad day.”

In addition to the 13 inductees, Guy Elliott, a former arena director for the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and countless others, will receive the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award, which honors individuals in recognition of their groundbreaking, innovative ideas and forward thinking.

Commotion passed away Sept. 7, 2016, at the Beutler & Son ranch near Elk City, Okla. He was 25.

Commotion, a 1,300-pound bay stallion, who stood at 16.1 hands, was voted the top bareback horse at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 1997. He went on to win the next three Bareback Riding Horse of the Year awards, 1998-2000, when he was part of the Beutler and Gaylord Rodeo Company string. He made 10 consecutive trips (1997-2006) to the Wrangler NFR before retiring in his prime at the 2006 Wrangler NFR at the age of 15. Two rounds were won on him at the Wrangler NFR. Commotion has sired more than 70 horses who have gone on to compete at the Wrangler NFR. His daughter Killer Bee was named the Top Saddle Bronc at the Wrangler NFR in 2013 and 2014 and was runner up for Saddle Bronc of the Year in 2015. Another daughter of his is Wound Up, the 2016 Top Saddle Bronc at the Wrangler NFR and the 2017 Saddle Bronc of the Year.

“Besides him being such a great bucking horse for us, he was also a breeder, and that doesn’t happen very much,” Beutler said.

In August 2013, artist T.D. Kelsey’s larger-than-life-statue of Commotion was dedicated at the National Route 66 Museum Complex in Elk City, Okla. When Commotion wasn’t at rodeos, he lived at the Beutler’s Ranch in Elk City, and he was buried next to the statue.

“He was an outlaw,” Beutler said about Commotion. “We never did halter break him. He was very independent, and he strutted around like he was king of the road. After he was in bareback riding for seven or eight years, we put him one year in the bronc riding, and he was really good, but then we went back to bareback riding because that’s what he was best at. He just bucked hard every time, and cowboys were only able to ride him about half the time, and when he would buck somebody off, he would prance around the arena. He knew he was special.”

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Hall of Fame Mission

The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy educates the public about rodeo, its history, and its impact on Western American culture. The Hall of Fame provides recognition to rodeo notables of the past and present, and serves as an inspiration for the future.
101 Pro Rodeo Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80919